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Climate Change in an Admittedly Large Nutshell

With respect to Steve Weiss, in a splendid reply to a post I was following:
Coming from an academic background as a member of the Utah State University faculty for 28 years, I can appreciate why people in general may question, at face value, the validity of peer reviewed scientific literature that confirms accelerated global warming. So, here is the easy to understand bottom line: In 1850, the year modern science and engineering began to emerge, there were 1.5 billion human natural resources consumers on Planet Earth, and by 1940 there were 2 billion. Human population grew from 2 billion in 1940 to currently 7.5 billion, an increase of 5.5 billion human natural resources consumers within the past 77 years. The United Nations predicts an additional 5 billion will be added to our already 7.5 billion by the year 2100. Achieving 100% clean energy use will help mitigate, but not solve our environmental Catch-22 problem. Humankind is an environmentally invasive species living in a fragile ecosystem that has finite resources to support our life form. This is the BIGGER PICTURE that humankind cannot easily resolve:
Agriculture gave humankind the free time from hunting and gathering to be creative and inventive which, over time, resulted in modern science. Knowledge of the Natural World comes from a daily reliance on the Laws of Nature for the necessities of life. Agriculture and modern science have distanced humankind from the Natural World, resulting in environmental illiteracy.
The Earth’s climate has undergone numerous gradual (slow) warming and cooling periods over the 50,000 years of modern human evolution. These gradual warming and cooling periods took place prior to 1850 when global human population reached 1.5 billion. Human population began to grow exponentially after the advent of modern science and engineering in 1850; however, only growing to 2 billion by 1940. Advances in modern medicine, agricultural science, and engineering during, and especially after, World War II allowed human population to grow at an accelerated exponential rate to currently 7.5 billion (an increase of 5.5 billion human natural resources consumers over the past 70 years); thereby, dramatically increasing the impact of human activity on habitat for all life forms.
That being said, modern medicine began to evolve with the emergence of Louis Pasteur’s Germ Theory in 1860, which linked bacteria to disease. This discovery forever minimized human mortality and lengthened the life span of our species. Pandemic disease was eliminated over time as one of Mother Nature’s checks on human population growth; and, infant mortality was also greatly reduced.
The rapid exponential increase in human population has not only resulted in (1) massive habitat destruction arising from: housing and urban development, industrial development, roads, agriculture, water and air pollution, deforestation, landfills, dams, etc.; but, has also resulted in (2) the unprecedented rapid acceleration of global warming. Even if humankind achieves 100% clean energy use, methane gas from agriculture and landfills will continue to erode the ozone. Damage already done to the ozone cannot be repaired by humankind; it can only be mitigated over time by the forces of Nature.
The U.N. predicts a minimum of 5 billion human natural resources consumers will be added to our current 7.5 billion by the year 2100. At the core, unprecedented exponential human population growth, allowed by modern scientific discovery and engineering, is the root cause of both (1) unprecedented rapid acceleration of global warming and (2) massive habitat destruction for all life forms on Planet Earth. That being said, modern scientific discovery has evolved apart from a philosophy of science that describes the impact of science and engineering on the environment and humankind; thereby, compounding the problem of environmental illiteracy.
Accelerated global warming and massive habitat destruction are gaining momentum as each critical year passes. Exponential human population growth feeding a consumer based greed driven global economy, religious beliefs arising from 4,200 religions worldwide, and a profound ignorance of the Natural World that supports all life forms on Planet Earth, will prevent any reversal or slowing of human population growth.
Accelerated global warming will cause agriculture to fail, and limit the availability of clean drinking water, on a global scale, leading to a catastrophic collapse in the world economy. Global economic depression will ensue, a catalyst for world war and several genocides in the 20th Century. Weapons of mass destruction may be deployed by our warlike species as famine and drought encompass the globe, resulting in nuclear winter. The fact is, global rapid exponential human population growth cannot be reversed without a catastrophic political and environmental event. The extinction of humankind, along with many other life forms, is imminent in this century.
Humankind lives with the illusion that Planet Earth does not have a maximum carrying capacity for our species; when, in fact, we are subject to the same Natural Laws as all other life forms. We are not exempt. Science, social science, and the geologic record do not care what you think. The facts speak for themselves.